2006.12.11

Menu For Hope III

It's the time of year when thoughts turn to celebration and gift-giving with family and friends. It's also the season to consider giving something of ourselves to help those less fortunate than we are. In that spirit, Menu For Hope III, hosted by the lovely Pim, launches today on food blogs around the world.

Last year Menu For Hope II raised over $ 17,000 for Asian tsunami disaster relief. This year donations will go to the UN World Food Programme, which provides hunger relief for people around the world. It's particularly appropriate that we food bloggers, who celebrate all things edible, should extend a helping hand to those for whom simply getting enough to eat is a day-to-day struggle.

Food bloggers participate by donating prizes. You, our readers, can participate by purchasing a raffle ticket or ten for the prize or prizes of your choice.

EatingAsia is offering a copy of Air Tangan Tengku Puan Pahang: Masakan Tradisional Pahang. This hardcover, coffee table-size book of 155 recipes from the eleven districts of Malaysia's Pahang state was put together by the wife of the Pahang Crown Prince. The title comes from the bahasa Malaysia phrase 'air tangan ibu', which refers to that special, undefinable taste of a mother's cooking. The recipes in this book, which is difficult if not impossible to find outside of Malaysia, are for the sort of homestyle dishes rarely found in restaurants. This volume - in bahasa Malaysia and English - is a must for anyone with a keen interest in Asian food and, especially, in regional Malaysian cuisine. Read more about it here.

You can participate for a mere US $10, the price of a single raffle ticket. How? First, check out the other fabulous prizes up for raffle at Chez Pim - a roundup of prizes offered by Asia Pacific and NZ/Australia food bloggers can be found here. Once you've decided which prizes appeal, note your chosen prize's code (the code for EatingAsia's prize is AP32) and then go to the donation page. Take along your credit card! Donations don't touch Menu For Hope III's organizers' hands -- they are pooled by First Giving and then, when the raffle is over, will be handed over directly to the UN World Food Programme.

Fill in the details - be sure to specify a prize in the personal message section of the donation form. Buy as many tickets as you'd like, and go for as many prizes as you'd like, but be sure to specify how many tickets you'd like to buy for each prize (for instance, a $50 donation could buy 2 tickets for AP01 and 3 tickets for AP02). The more you give, the better your chance of winning a prize.

Don't forget to check the box that will allow Menu For Hope III's organizers to see your email, so you can be contacted if you win. The drawing will be done electronically. Check Chez Pim on January 15, 2008 for a list of the winners.

US donors, remember that your donation is tax-deductible. If your company has a donation matching program, please remember to check the appropriate box on the donation form and fill in the details so that we my claim the corporate match.

Remember - the more tickets you buy, the greater your chances of winning a prize! Don't pass up this great opportunity to be in the running for some wonderful food-related goodies while at the same time helping out those less fortunate. The raffle runs till December 22, 6pm Pacific Standard Time (United States).